Those damn cyclists again!

Spook_ie wrote: »

Customs and Excise, GS or revenue, whichever one would deal with unlicensed vehicles, penalty dunno, maybe 10x what you owe or scapping of the bike, told you that the detail would be worked out by some junior lackey probably in enviroment dept.

hahaha!

I "think" George Carlin may be talking about you here:




Edit: and some others on here..

twowheelsgood wrote: »

The difficulty is that some drivers will attempt to pass when it is patently not safe to do. (Only a lunatic would go over the other side of a road to over-take at a corner but for some reason, doing do and having a bit of your car across the central line is only a venial sin!).

Unless there is a hard shoulder or a cycle lane or some scenario where it is possible for a car to overtake without moving out then there is no material difference (should not be!) between been a foot rather than 2-3 foot from the road edge, but a cyclist is far safer in the case of the latter.

And contrary to what some motorist might think, I do not like have a car right behind me. I will do everything I can (short of taking a header in to a field!) to see them go safely past ASAP.

This, so much this.


It always shocks me when drivers overtake me on bends! A foot into the other lane and some how it's "ok" because they're just overtaking a bike :rolleyes:

They are meant to overtake similar to overtaking a slow moving vehicle, but most just fly past without considering how much space the cyclists needs.

The amount of times cars are so close that if you skidded slightly, you'd crash into them likely causing serious injury to yourself.

diomed wrote: »

The RSA statistics show 1,025,514 penalty points given to 617,928 drivers in January 2014.
If you can post here the number of cycling offences and number of cyclists for that month (or any period) then we can compare.

Fair point. Let me rephrase,
Cyclists are a profoundly delinquent class of road user, who are subject to no effective law enforcement whatsoever. The loutish behaviour is bad enough, but this is an accompanied by a sickening sanctimonious sense of entitlement that would put the 1950s Catholic church in the ha'penny place. Some even use the lack of enforcement and consequent lack of applied penalties as a justification, thereby exalting in the present chaos.

looking_around wrote: »

This, so much this.
It always shocks me when drivers overtake me on bends! A foot into the other lane and some how it's "ok" because they're just overtaking a bike :rolleyes:
They are meant to overtake similar to overtaking a slow moving vehicle, but most just fly past without considering how much space the cyclists needs.
The amount of times cars are so close that if you skidded slightly, you'd crash into them likely causing serious injury to yourself.

You don't even have to skid... As happened to this poor soul...

ardmacha wrote: »

Fair point. Let me rephrase,
Cyclists are a profoundly delinquent class of road user, who are subject to no effective law enforcement whatsoever. The loutish behaviour is bad enough, but this is an accompanied by a sickening sanctimonious sense of entitlement that would put the 1950s Catholic church in the ha'penny place. Some even use the lack of enforcement and consequent lack of applied penalties as a justification, thereby exalting in the present chaos.

When's the last time you've been on a bike? Go out and obey all road traffic laws on one like I do every day and have a look at the quality car driving you'll witness from the comfort of your saddle.

Yes. There are a lot of bad cyclists. But wait until you experience bad driving from a cyclist's perspective!

You'll soon change your tune. Trust me.

Red Nissan wrote: »

THAT is NOT an accident. The driver seems to have attacked the cyclist, that's a crime.

It's only a pick up truck. It's not like he attacked him with a weapon!

Red Nissan wrote: »

Close and fast is how I take them out myself. Minimise the danger is my philosophy.

I hope you're being sarcastic, because it's this kind of driving that leads to serious injuries or death.
You wouldn't over take a car like that,

When you see a cyclist, imagine the width of a car, overtake with that width taken into consideration.

Motorists and Cyclists should never be on the same road, it's madness, always was, having hit about five cars in my own cycling career, I now drive a massive jeep and *touch wood* we've never met.

Yes, more cycle lanes are definitely needed and more hard shoulders, but that is something that will likely never cover every road.

However it's a bit disappoint when they work/expand a road but don't add a hard shoulder.
(as as done here recently enough, road expanded, but still highly dangerous for cyclists to use due to being bendy with heavy, fast traffic.

All roads that need to be repaired/expanded, should have the width of a cyclist taken into consideration so a "half" hardshoulder or a full one. I mean if they're going to rip the road up and start from scratch, should at least do it proper.

looking_around wrote: »

You wouldn't over take a car like that,.

Yes, I would. The optimal words here is mimimise exposure to danger. IE, the slower and longer you take to take out a a moving an unpredictable obstruction, the more likely you will have a negative impact on it.

I do down gear and speed past cars, it also gives me the most momentum so I've a more survivable chance in the event that the other cars does a Crazy Ivan.

Red Nissan wrote: »

Yes, I would. The optimal words here is mimimise exposure to danger. IE, the slower and longer you take to take out a a moving an unpredictable obstruction, the more likely you will have a negative impact on it.

I do down gear and speed past cars, it also gives me the most momentum so I've a more survivable chance in the event that the other cars does a Crazy Ivan.

However there's NO reason to go close to a bike.

You also have to remember speeding passed creates a drift/wind that can unbalance a cyclist. (Worse the larger the vehicle that's passing. )

And all it takes is them hitting a pebble to fall, and then because you were so close you slammed into them.
Taking the space. Gives them room should they need to pull out/potholes/rocks) while you're over taking.

It happens. There's no reason to overtake so close to a cyclist, and all reason to overtake in a proper/safe manner, which is, using the opposite lane when safe to do so. And slowing down, being patient until then.

Don't defend reckless driving to minimise 'danger'. It's still reckless and by definition, dangerous.

LexieOnRale wrote: »

Nearly clipped one of these pricks today, was in the inside lane going around a roundabout and there was a car in the lane next to me. This fool with no helmet weaved in and out between cars and cut in front of me just as I was getting off the roundabout.

Cyclists seem oblivious to the fact a smack off a massive metal thing moving will actually hurt.

Most cyclist are not oblivious to do that.
I'd wonder if there was a reason he felt the need to weave?

I often get off the bike and cross via foot path when comes to round abouts myself. (because I once had some idiot overtake me on a roundabout, then slam the breaks right in front of me. Literally right infront of me. Driver on the left lane was as shocked as I. And luckily had been further back, as I ended up swerving out to the left.)

You do know though, there are easily more drivers who don't know how to use a roundabout correctly than cyclists?
I'm sure you can think of many incidents where there's an idiot driver, not indicating/being on the wrong lane etc.

looking_around wrote: »

Don't defend reckless driving to minimise 'danger'. It's still reckless and by definition, dangerous.

I say again minimise exposure to danger. By whatever means.

I'm driving long enough and have had my share with cyclists, pedestrians, road works, Gardaí, stupid fire appliance deployments, tractors on motorways, unmarked silage gates, cattle, beet trucks [won't see them anymore, they were super fun].

I've got into a few scrapes because I was going too fast for my load and I owe my like to the professional conduct of other professional drivers, my biggest scare was taking a Transit van, over loaded around a bend before Buttevant from Cork and against me was a woman who actually took her hands off the wheel and covered her face. I had to do all the work and there is only so much physics one can control, but I did. If I had met a bus, an artic, a cattle truck, a beet truck or any other professional vehicle they would have known what to do to assist me in my error.

Loads shift, grit, grease, oil, sand dust can all change the road in an instant and turn your vehicle into a missile, I face that too, road works, going into Dungarvan, an eight wheel tipper truck and I ~ then unaccustomed to either my vehicle or the route became a bomb and lost brakes, the truck blocked the road, my solution was headlights, horn and aim at the silly worker who had his hand in the air to stop me.

We all are learning all the time, we never stop.

Jawgap wrote: »

As evidenced by a recent posting in the Dashcam Saves Your Ass thread......the poster was convinced he, not the overtaking driver was in the right.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMnFxmC4p1o

I'm not sure about your point here? (can't see the vid on my phone.)

I was on the right hand lane, as I was going through to the 3rd exist of the roundabout.

The guy who overtook me was on the left lane and turned into the right lane straight in front of me. Then randonly slammed the breaks. He was clearly in the wrong. If he needed to be in the right hand lane, he should've stayed behind me, and put up with going through the roundabout a little slower.